The new issue of ISIS' English-language magazine provides clues about the Brussels attackers

Khalid
(left) and Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, the Belgian brothers identified
as the suicide bombers who struck Brussels on 22
March.Belgian
Police

ISIS released the latest edition of its English-language
propaganda magazine this week, and it provides some clues about
the backgrounds of the terrorists who attacked Belgium last
month.

Unlike the main players in the Paris attacks that killed 130
people in November, the men who are thought to have carried out
the Brussels bombings seem to have been radicalized and trained
in Europe.

Authorities have been scrambling to secure Europe's borders to
prevent terrorists from returning to the continent after training
with extremist groups in Syria, but that might not always be
enough to prevent future attacks.

ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh) noted in
its magazine that the brother suicide bombers in the Brussels
attacks were radicalized while imprisoned in Europe.

The magazine, Dabiq, which is aimed at a Western audience, claims
that Khalid al-Bakraoui followed the news about "atrocities
against Muslims" in Syria while he was incarcerated.

His brother, Ibrahim, claimed to have had a "life-changing dream"
while he was in prison that motivated him to fight "the
disbelievers."

The brothers had been in prison for violent crimes including car
jacking and bank robbery,
according to The New York Times.

And while Ibrahim was reportedly deported by Turkey last year
because authorities suspected him of trying to travel to Syria,
Dabiq does not claim that he ever fought or trained in Syria.

New York Times terrorism correspondent Rukmini Callimachi pointed
out on Twitter that what's notable about the biographies of the
Brussels attackers in Dabiq is that only one of them, Najim
Laacharoui, appears to have traveled to Syria.

Here's her analysis:

1. New issue of ISIS magazine is out, inc bio of Brussels attackers. Of interest is that only Najim Lachraoui seems to have gone to Syria

The Times identified Laacharoui as "one of the key
connections" between the Paris and Brussels attackers. He was
known as the bomb maker who made weapons for both the Paris and
Brussels attacks.

Najim
LaacharouiReuters

He was born in Morocco, grew up in Brussels, and went to Syria in
2013,
according to the Times.

He lived in the Schaerbeek neighborhood in Brussels when he was a
teenager.

The area is now becoming known as a hotspot for jihadist
recruitment.

A French police official cast doubt on the claims in Dabiq,
telling The Wall Street Journal that it's important not to
forget that Dabiq is "a propaganda tool for Islamic State."

The magazine did not give information on the suspects in the
attacks who are still at large.

Damage
in the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at
Zaventem Airport.Thomson
Reuters

Pieter Van Ostaeyen, a Belgian expert in Islamic affairs, told
the Journal that ISIS' claims about how the Bakraoui planned
and carried out the attacks are likely exaggerated. Dabiq linked
the brothers to both the Paris and Brussels attacks.

"I doubt the Bakraoui brothers had the operational knowledge,"
Van Ostaeyen told the Journal. "They could have helped easily in
providing the weapons, as they were hardened criminals, but I
don’t see them capable of organizing all of this."

Dabiq articles lauding the terrorists who carry out attacks
on Western soil are becoming a regular occurrence in the
magazine.